A new lung injury associated with vaping has been identified by the doctors of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Acute Fibrinous Organizing Pneumonia (AFOP) is a special histological pattern in acute respiratory failure with high mortality. It is described as a “newly evolving, rare lung pathology within the field of pulmonology.”
A recently published report discusses the case of an asthmatic teenage boy who heavily smoked mango and mint flavored JUUL, as well as some counterfeit THC. He presented with severe chest pain and shortness of breath.
Upon hospital admission, a computed tomography angiography (CTA) revealed lung parenchymal abnormalities. A transbronchial biopsy showed AFOP. The patient was treated for 3 days on ventilatory support and IV steroids. He was asymptomatic after a month without vaping.
Additionally, another case out of West Orange, New Jersey, reports a 24-year-old male who presented with progressive shortness of breath, fever, malaise, and emesis. He required intubation on admission due to worsening hypoxia. He vaped tobacco and THC daily. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed “bilateral interstitial infiltrates with bibasilar consolidation.”
A lung biopsy showed an AFOP pattern of injury consisting of a “patchy distribution of intra-alveolar balls of fibrinous exudate associated with few neutrophils and only rare foamy macrophages, as well as scattered fibroblastic plugs within air spaces.” After 9 days of treatment with IV steroids, he was discharged. At a 2-week follow-up the patient had returned to baseline function.
Anapol Weiss is now accepting vaping injury cases. If you or someone you know has experienced illness or injury due to vaping, please reach out to us. We may be able to help.
